i wrote about the versatile “long panel” layout in Mind in the gutter. It’s easiest to understand as “flipping” them from standing up vs. lying down, and that you can subdivide the page into combinations.

I designed the first story to be very simple, visually – just the standing-up version, with combined panels to make bigger units. In this story I added the lying-down version for the action, which is a hallmark of Frank Miller’s Daredevil, George Perez’s New Teen Titans, and Bill Sienkewiecz’s Moon Knight (all at about the same time, 1981 or so). Each story adapts the template in a different way – you’ll see some that include more big panels and some that include more subdivided panels, including chopping up a given “long” panel.

Demonstrating the Bandit’s powers has been a challenge, but we are at about the point where enough information is established to explain them a little. He used them in the first story, for example. He explains a little more in this story on page 7, or rather, the scene begins in the middle of his explanation. You may also see that his equipment is very carefully organized in his workspace in previous panels and also in an upcoming page.

The basic power is that he can bring things to his hands as long as he knows exactly where they are, either by memory or because he can see them. Not very big things, and there are certain limits of type (which show up in a later story), but that’s why he keeps an extensive collection of useful things in an organized arrangement. It’s also why you should never, never point a gun at the Bandit. It’ll go off, but not in the way you expected.

I do a lot of research for his various items. The device he used to short-out Topaz’s powers (and almost kill her) in the first story is a real thing, and no, he didn’t just “happen to have it,” he called it to his hand as soon as she appeared. That’s why he didn’t seem too worried about being grabbed.

It’s perhaps easier to follow in color, as Manuela and Mattia decided to use a purple glow to indicate an object he’s “grabbing,” which doesn’t show as obviously in grayscale.

This story is all about the chain you see in action on this page. After next week’s page, which ends this story, re-read to see if you can follow its history and how Topaz comes to be using it here.